A full crowd gathered to see Sting perform at Ravinia Festival Saturday night as part of his Back To Bass tour.

Sting played a healthy mix of his original songs as well as pieces from his days as frontman of The Police. At the ripe age of 62, he still looks like the rockstar that he was, playing bass sporting a short blonde crew cut, clad in punk boots, black skinny jeans, and a skin tight t-shirt.

He's so hot,'' said concertgoer Mary Antoni, ''that was a fabulous performance; remarkable.''

But Sting wasn't all looks, having no difficulty hitting the high notes of his more mellow solo material, or powering through his post-punk Police classics.

He opened the show with an original song, 'If I Ever Lose My Faith In You', playing straight into The Police's hit, 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic'. From the beginning of the show on, the predominantly middle-aged crowd knew the words to all his songs, with The Police songs in particular.

After his openers, true to his English roots, Sting performed his vaguely autobiographical tune, 'Englishman In New York'. He sang, ''Be yourself no matter what they say. I'm an alien. I'm a legal alien. I'm an Englishman in New York.''

Adding to his tenacity within live performances, Sting played with an impeccable backing band comprised of Vinnie Coliuta on drums, guitarist Dominic Miller, Violinist and Mandolin player Peter Tickell, backup vocalist Jo Lawry, and keyboardist David Sancious.

Miller had a chance to show off his blues guitar prowess in 'Demolition Man' and 'Next To You'. Tickell also had a chance to flaunt, hammering away at his violin in an extended shredding solo during 'Driven To Tears' where he broke strings off his bow and continued playing making for a highlight of the night and incurring a standing ovation.

''That was the same old Sting,'' says crowd member Neil Holdway, ''He hasn't lost a step, and still has that voice.''

The loyal concertgoers stayed packed in at the outdoor venue despite the unexpected 56F chill. Even the band was feeling the weather, having had space heaters placed at the back corners of the stage. Despite this, some unwavering fans were seen waiting outside festival gates as early as 3:00pm for an 8:00pm show to get a good seat.

As the set wore towards the end, Sting even had the seated pavilion section on their feet singing along with his classics, 'Message In A Bottle', 'Shape Of My Heart', 'De Do Do Do De Da Da Da', and closing with his legendary falsetto singalong, 'Roxanne'.

Staying true to his punk roots, Sting was not eager to leave the stage, coming back on for encore after encore, playing his own 'Desert Rose', The Police's 'Next To You', an upbeat rendition of 'Every Breath You Take', and finally closing with his own hit song 'Fragile'. Sting barely even needed to sing as the crowd stole their favorite lyrics, ''What can I do when all I want is to be next to you?''

Most fans seemed to leave the festival in awe of the performance. Avid Sting enthusiast John Siracuse said, ''That was a great concert; Sting was fantastic. That was absolutely worth coming out and braving the elements.''

Wow,
You guys moved fast. I posted the message below about the "Meet and Greet Packages" still being available in Boston and they were all scooped up within 24 hours, after being available for well over a month now.
Nice work Sting fans. I hope everyone is able to find tickets to a show. :-)
By the way, some of the "VIP Tour Packages" are still available through Live Nation on the link above that the sting.com website has posted. Here is the link if you need it: http://vipnation.com/programs/sting---back-to-bass-tour
That way you get can get a seat in the first 15 rows. Good luck everyone.
DRL

stinger
April 25,2013

Boston still has "Meet & Greet" for Sale

If it is any conciliation, Boston, Massachusetts still has the "Meet and Greet" option for sale, not just the "VIP Tour Package" option. You might have to travel to do that if you are not in Boston, but you would be able to meet Sting in person.
Chicago had the "VIP Tour Package" option but it is sold out. They never had the "Meet & Greet" option available in Chicago.
In any case, "Meet & Greet" will probably be pretty cursorily I would imagine. Maybe they will even ask you to pay for a picture with him if they have a photographer? Who knows? Anything to make a buck perhaps. Bring your own camera if you end up doing the "Meet & Greet".
I hope this helps!

lawman
April 24,2013

Meet and Greet

The VIP Nation does not have meet and greet packages for the June 7 and 8 shows. Will they not be offered?

>>>>>

No, there are no M&G packages for the Chicago shows.

craigluther
April 23,2013

Ravinia Presale

Can we purchase lawn seats tomorrow? Is there a limit on how many lawn seats one person can purchase?

kat
April 23,2013

LEGACY PRESALE

Why isn't there going to be a LEGACY window for the presales? The last time Sting was at Ravinia, there was a legacy window. I'm very disappointed with this latest development. For these concerts, there is no advantage to being a legacy member!

stingcom
April 23,2013

Ravinia Presale Update

The Ravinia presales will take place tomorrow, 24 April, from 10am to 3pm (local time). You need to use your unique code displayed on the tour page when you are logged in. There is no legacy window for these two presales. All members get access at 10am (local).

DianeC227
April 23,2013

Presale for Ravinia

Where is the presale code for the Ravinia show?

>>>>>

The VIP Package code will be published on the site before the presale starts tomorrow. The unique presale code for paid members for the normal presale is already on the tour page and visible to you when you are logged in.

stingcom
April 22,2013

Presale Update

The fan club pre-sale for the June 7 and 8 shows at Ravinia has been moved from tomorrow, Tuesday April 23 to this Wednesday, April 24. More details posted on Sting.com by Tuesday AM.

lironmg
March 14,2013

Marriage Proposal...help?

I would like to propose to my GF @ the Sting Concert @ Ravinia.
Can anyone assist in me connecting with STINGS people to coordinate the "suprise"?
I would love to have as many poeple "in on it":-)
Thanks!
carode1234@gmail.com